Debt, Economy Forces Finlay to Close Shop After 135 Years
BLOOMFIELD, CT—Finlay Print-ing, a $20 million commercial and specialty print provider, is closing its doors after more than 135 years in business, the Hartford Courant reported. Its 55 employees were informed of the move in early September and, by the middle of the month, the final jobs were being finished.
The Courant reported that Allied Printing in Manchester, CT, had hired a number of former Finlay workers. One Finlay employee told the paper that the company was closing due to financial problems stemming from the 2008 repurchase of the firm from Atlanta-based priNexus.
The owners, Todd and Kevin Kalagher, had taken on substantial debt to repurchase Finlay, but the economy and flagging printing industry made it difficult to repay the debt, the employee told the paper. That prompted the decision to close up shop.
Kevin Kalagher, the firm's CEO, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company, founded in 1876, ranked 236th on the 2011 PI 400 list of top U.S. and Canadian printers ranked by sales.